[R Funk]

Steve looks, like you have got some interesting days ahead of you correcting other's rat nests and cobbles. This must be the most frustrating part of an electricion's job, rework where you can't trust that appropriate wire materials and methods were used nor that the current state of the installation will allow a safe working enviroment. And drawings, are they an aid or hindrance? Some drawings are so far out of date they can be a hindrance.

NFPA 70E has really changed the way our electricians and electrical contractors work. We just about never work hot anymore. We just insist to production that the power must be off to comply with OSHA (NFPA 70E) requirements. As a contractor, which I assume you are, your leverage as less there will always be some contractors who are less safety conscious than you and your company.

A side note to all non-electricans: Many electricians are killed from burns. Some studies show that more are killed by burns than by shock.

If you inadvertantly drop a tool in a breaker box or a loose wire gets out of control shorting out the breaker box, you have just created an electric arc furnace. This happened to one of my friends, a Union Electrican foreman and a loose piece of steel that had been in the box for years and un-noticed fell across the conductors. He had 2nd and 3rd degree burns or the most of the front of his body amd was off work for months.